Sharon Carter

[Hephoenix]

Is Sharon Carter an underrated character in the comics:
- She is often prrtrayed as a love interest for Captain Amerca, thoght she is one of the best Shield Agents, she was a Director of Shield and part of the Secret Avengers. She can kick ass, even for an elder woman,
- She never appeared in any moder cartoon, with Peggy Carter getting the spotlight.
- She got underused in the MCU. She barely appear in Captain: Winter Soldier and Civil War.
- She appeared in a low number of games.

What do you think about it?

marvel___sharon_carter_by_genzoman-d67bcpz.jpg

[Michael Watkins]

she needs some kind of infinity formula knockoff.

[Valamist]

I have not read that much with her in, outside modern books, but I really like her. She really feels underappreciated. Kinda hated what they have done with her in the MCU. Winter Soldier was alright, in setting her up, but she was just a waste of space in CW. She should have joined in at the airport and stuff.

[Hephoenix]

In the concept art she was in the fight, but in the movie she is not. I feel we won´t see much of her going forward

Spoliers


(Feige has confirme she has turn to dust offscreen after the end of Infinity War)

[capandkirby]

Sharon is the epitome of the woman in the refrigerator trope and its unfortunate because, as you said, she's a highly skilled agent. But I mean, Waid brought her back with the story that she had been left for dead by SHIELD in hostile territory. Brubaker had her brainwashed, abducted, and tortured by Red Skull, stabbed by Skull's daughter, impregnated and then losing the child to said stab wound, and then Remender had her trapped in Dimension Z and aged up, a state which currently still stands. It would be nice to read a plot where the biggest part of her story doesn't involve her complete lack of agency. Coates is off to a good start, sending her on some kind of secret mission, so she might just get a decent arc in the newest Cap run which might endear her more to her detractors.

Personally I've liked most of Steve's partners, I loved Bernie, Rachel and yes, Sharon as well. All great characters. The Cap book has the distinction of having not only a wonderful lead, but also some of the best supporting characters in Marvel.

[Tiamatty]

Sharon is the epitome of the woman in the refrigerator trope and its unfortunate because, as you said, she's a highly skilled agent. But I mean, Waid brought her back with the story that she had been left for dead by SHIELD in hostile territory. Brubaker had her brainwashed, abducted, and tortured by Red Skull, stabbed by Skull's daughter, impregnated and then losing the child to said stab wound, and then Remender had her trapped in Dimension Z and aged up, a state which currently still stands. It would be nice to read a plot where the biggest part of her story doesn't involve her complete lack of agency. Coates is off to a good start, sending her on some kind of secret mission, so she might just get a decent arc in the newest Cap run which might endear her more to her detractors.

Yeah, and what's worse, Sharon herself rarely gets to actually feel about anything that happens to her. She always has to be emotionally strong, never allowed to be vulnerable. Just the standard Strong Female Character. Coates had her show more vulnerability in one scene in the first issue of his Captain America run than any other writer has let her show in decades. She deserves a chance to just, like, cry.

[Frontier]

One of my few disappointments with the Russo Captain America films is how much they really underutilized Sharon.

I get that Hayley Atwell's Agent Carter is a tough act to follow, but Sharon deserved better then she got, as did her relationship with Steve.

[strathcona]

I have never been a Sharon Carter fan. I found her uninspiring in her original appearances, and was not pleased when Waid brought her back. Some good work was done with her by later writers, but I still find her boring compared to other characters. Cap should be with Diamondback IMO, so I may just be a little biased.

[capandkirby]

One of my few disappointments with the Russo Captain America films is how much they really underutilized Sharon.

I get that Hayley Atwell's Agent Carter is a tough act to follow, but Sharon deserved better then she got, as did her relationship with Steve.

I'll never get over just how popular Peggy Carter became as a love interest for Steve in the MCU, because while I loved how they portrayed her, for me, coming from a comics background, she was always the elderly Avengers assistant during Gruenwald's run and the lady who divorced Steve because he wanted to be an astronaut instead of Captain America during the House of M event. I never really considered her character as being important to Steve's character growth until the films. It still trips me out that the movie crowd have a hard time accepting Sharon, and I'd hazard to say even Bernie or Rachel had Feige gone with either of them instead of Sharon, because of Peggy. I mean Steve was engaged to Bernie and with her for years. He was also with Sharon and Rachel, on and off, for years. Peggy was a blip in the radar. That said the MCU did do a great job with her and I can see the interest in her.

[capandkirby]

I have never been a Sharon Carter fan. I found her uninspiring in her original appearances, and was not pleased when Waid brought her back. Some good work was done with her by later writers, but I still find her boring compared to other characters. Cap should be with Diamondback IMO, so I may just be a little biased.

Now I do like Sharon, but seeing Diamondback in the MCU would be neat. They'd have to go full throttle with her, i.e. her starting out as Steve's enemy and becoming an ally. And the pink hair is a must.

[Digifiend]

she needs some kind of infinity formula knockoff.

Yeah, like Mockingbird has. It would probably undo her aging.

[klynn]

Sharon's always been one of my favorite characters (#12 on my all time list) since the Englehart Captain America run back in the mid-70s. I'll usually pick up a Cap run if she's prominently featured. Loved how Brubaker used her. I'm curious to see how Coates handles her in his run and so far it looks like she'll be prominently featured. And, yes, I would like to see her de-aged and see her and Steve's relationship further developed.

[DrNewGod]

One of my few disappointments with the Russo Captain America films is how much they really underutilized Sharon.

I get that Hayley Atwell's Agent Carter is a tough act to follow, but Sharon deserved better then she got, as did her relationship with Steve.

Yeah, they transplanted a lot of comic Sharon's mojo into Peggy in CA:TFA. Didn't leave a lot for Sharon to stand out with in the films. Plus three serious problems:

1. Atwell had chemistry with Evans that Van Camp just couldn't match
2. Cap comes across more dramatically if he's tragically bereft of his great love in a way that he can't if he moves on with someone else
3. The whole relationship with his aged gf's younger niece comes off as Deeply Creepy, and has since it was first cooked up in the 1970s.

But, I digress.

Sharon indeed never fully got her due in the comics. I don't claim she's a Black Widow peer, but nobody should ever have heard of a "Maria Hill" when Marvel had Sharon on the books. (aside, did Hill come along while Sharon was in one of her dead time-outs?)

[Digifiend]

Hill debuted in New Avengers #4 in 2005. Sharon was active in the Captain America (vol 5) title a few months later.

[capandkirby]

Yeah, they transplanted a lot of comic Sharon's mojo into Peggy in CA:TFA. Didn't leave a lot for Sharon to stand out with in the films. Plus three serious problems:

1. Atwell had chemistry with Evans that Van Camp just couldn't match
2. Cap comes across more dramatically if he's tragically bereft of his great love in a way that he can't if he moves on with someone else
3. The whole relationship with his aged gf's younger niece comes off as Deeply Creepy, and has since it was first cooked up in the 1970s.

But, I digress.

Sharon indeed never fully got her due in the comics. I don't claim she's a Black Widow peer, but nobody should ever have heard of a "Maria Hill" when Marvel had Sharon on the books. (aside, did Hill come along while Sharon was in one of her dead time-outs?)

I don't really buy that the act of pining adds to a character's intrigue. Some of my all-time favorite Cap storylines happened during a time when Steve was either happily coupled or single but not really over-dramatizing the pining (The Captain/John Walker storyline came after a break-up with Bernie, but I wouldn't call Steve pining, especially as he and Bernie remained friends and he even called her for advice on how to deal with the government when they gave him the ultimatum). Waid's recent short run is a perfect example that Steve can do just fine on his own without relationship drama needed to add to the story. And I wouldn't call Peggy a "great love" (like I said, she flat-out divorced him because becoming an astronaut wasn't ambitious enough on his part for her, because, you know, being an astronaut is such a low-ball profession). That said, I do admit I'm biased against her, I read the House of M tie-in well before CA: The First Avenger came out so it was difficult to warm to her, even in the films.

Honestly, Steve is a pretty young guy, if you don't count the time in the ice, and the thought of a thirty-something year old otherwise healthy guy wasting the rest of his life pining because he couldn't be with one girl is just silly. Part of the inspiration inherent in Steve is that despite being a Man Out of Time™ - aka the world's most extreme case of culture shock and survivor's guilt - he did adapt and even thrived in his new environment. Steve's books have lucked out because most of his love interests have been great. At least they haven't tried to kill him and steal or sabotage his company secrets the way some of Tony's love interests have. A modernized, 21st century girlfriend like Sharon or Rachel just makes sense, because they are trained combatants who can hold their own and thus fit into Steve's world. I'd much rather see Steve with Sharon or Rachel, no matter who they're related to, than pining. Marvel overdoes the pining with their hero-against-hero drama, it gets old.

And honestly, unless you're Jessica Jones and Luke Cage, who are still happily married as far as I know (I don't count Sue and Reed because Sue did cheat and they did separate at one point), relationships are really the least of a superhero's concerns. With their life-style if you didn't know how to move on and live your life when someone close to you dies, you'd be incapacitated.

I guess this is my long way of saying, ugh, pining, no thanks. There is nothing wrong with Sharon. The problem with the films is that Civil War should have never been made to be part of the Cap trilogy, it should have been an Avengers film. I can think of a dozen actual Cap storylines, just off the top of my head, that would have been better representation of not just Steve, but also his supporting cast of characters: Bucky, Sam AND Sharon. Hell, I would have loved to have seen Dennis Dunphy or Jack Monroe, or Rachel, or John Walker, or hell, even William Burnside in the MCU, too. Ah, what might have been.

Maria Hill was all Bendis. Ugh.